Many of you have been asking me to post some of my experiences in France. After a lot of tecnical issues with my personal computer and the rebuilding of my website, it is finally here.
In June, 2012, I was invited to tour France with “The Movement Laboratory” of Lebanon, PA. We were to preform in the cities of Paris and Nice as ambassadors of the United Nations. So, we headed “over the pond” to preform in large and small venues from “Euro Disney” to “The Little Sisters of the Poor”, a charity group that provide a place of respite to the financially strapped elderly all over the world.
Eiffel Tower, Paris France
Our first concert was at “Euro Disney” on the stage of “The Lion King”. As I walked out on the “Videopolis” stage for a final sound check, I was struck by the thought of just where we were. As a vocalist, you daydream of performing in venues that have instant name recognition like “Disney”. Now, I was to perform not only at Disney World, but “Disneyland Paris”. In my wildest dreams, I never thought of myself as a Disney kind of gal. After all, I had never been to Disney before. Not even as a child. I felt as though I had regained my childhood, if only for a few short hours. It is true, Disney does make you feel like a princess!
Our perfromance at Euro Disney, Paris France – “When You Wish Upon A Star”
Our next performance became our most emotional. After a few days of sightseeing and a performance, many of us were reminded of the meaning our journey to lovely Paris when we arrived at Palais de la Femme (The Palace of the Women) run by the Salvation Army. Alas, it was not a palace at all, but a halfway house for abused and distraught women in an area of Paris that brought us back to reality. We were greeted by the joyous smiles of a homeless man holding the door for us and were escorted to a large empty hall filled with chairs. As we set-up and did our final sound checks, we began to see our audience file in one by one. It is times such as these as I am reminded to “humble yourself before the Lord”. The audience consisted of 70 men and women who found solace in our hour of reprieve in their days. Many were crippled, maimed or financially just making it from day to day. Although only a few spoke our language, they smiled, nodded and mused with the music right along with us. It was here that I found inspiration. Many months before, Judy, the director of the group had asked me to perform the “Habanera” from Bizet’s Carmen. It was an aria I had always wanted to perform. So, with great haste I worked on it with the hopes to be able to finally perform it for a live audience. Well, the day had finally arrived! I was terrified! “Why” you ask? It was the first time I was going to be performing French for the French! What if I pronounced something incorrectly? These were not the Americans of my native land and I was speaking their native tongue. So, I put on my best “Carmen Attitude” and headed out in front of the crowd.
“The Habanera” from Bizet’s Carmen, Salvation Army – Paris, France
As the performance ended and the crowd cheered. It was thrilling when many of the audience members came to me and started speaking in French to me as if I should be fluent in the language. It was disappointing to me to have to tell them, “Non parlez-vous le Francais!” One women, in disbelief exclaimed, “Non!” and I simply answered “Non”. She put it so simply with her smile and said in broken English, “Your singing beautiful … tres magnifique!” It was a great triumph for the PA Dutch Girl from Lebanon, PA, and kudos to my cousin, Lara, who taught me the French. She is a French teacher at Lebanon High School.
Our final performance was in Nice, France. Nice is part of the “South of France” or previously known as “The French Rivera”. This was at a retirement home run by “The Little Sisters of the Poor”. This organization, which is run by the Catholic Church, has it’s roots in France. It is here that we had the joy of performing for a large group of elderly men and women in their home’s exhibition hall. Our performance should have been hindered by fatigue, yet the girls danced as if they were seasoned performers. It turned out that I needed the boost myself, as I had contracted a nasty cold and was unsure that I would have the chutzpah to pull off the performance. With lots of prayer and faith the Lord saw me through and we all culminated with a moving performance of “He’s Got The Whole World In His Hands” . The audience cheered as they hugged us and thanked us for sharing our gifts with them. So, as I boarded the plane, I realized I made new friends and rekindled some old friendships. I happily enjoy remembering each and every day we spent together.
